# Cohiba v. Faux-hiba



## SilverStreak (May 7, 2012)

I recently received a gift of "authentic" Cuban cigars from a friend. I had my suspicions of them being fakes which were later confirmed courtesy of Puff. The suspect CoRo is presented here next to an authentic CoRo, courtesy of a very generous BOTL, @bpegler. While I'm hardly a cigar expert and a complete CC rookie, I'm curious to learn more about my hobby. Having no idea what I'll find inside and only a general idea of cigar construction, I hope this sheds some light on the topic of fakes. For your viewing pleasure, here's a side by side comparison.

Observe, the fake pictured below does not come even close to the actual CoRo format. I measured over a 1/4" difference in length between the two. You can also see the very obvious difference in wrapper and workmanship. Fingerprints of glue covered fingers are obvious as are the poorly wrapped seams.









Next, we have a closer looks at the bands. The authentic CoRo's band is carefully applied and fits snugly on the cigar. The fake is unevenly applied with excessive amounts of glue. The band of the fake also sports a glossier finish compared to the authentic one. You can also see a very apparent difference in the sheen and oil levels between the two.









Looking at the caps, the level of quality becomes painstakingly clear. The double cap which looks like it was applied with elmers glue pales in comparison to the neat triple cap of the real CoRo. The cap on our Faux-hiba is uneven and lacks a uniform shape.









The foot of each cigar also draws attention to workmanship. The authentic CoRo displays a nice even pack and a slight squeeze confirms even construction throughout the entire stick. Our fake CoRo has a spongy foot but also a rock hard spot near the top of the stick. You can see the difference in the filler already. A whif of each also reveals a difference with a sweet tobacco smell versus almost no scent at all which leads me to believe that our fake has had plenty of time to dry out. 









That's my pictorial for now. I'll be soaking the fake cigar in water for the next hour or two while I get some reading done. If anyone wants me to take a particular pic, just chime in. Otherwise, stay tuned to find out how this baby looks like on the inside.


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

Glad Bobs package arrived safely and you get a chance to try a real one.
Excellent pictures too!


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## MylesT (Feb 26, 2012)

Cool side-by-side!


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## SilverStreak (May 7, 2012)

And now for the other half of the pictorial. The fake was soaked in water for about an hour to help with the dissection process. While waiting for the cigar to soak, I snapped a picture of the fake band against a real band. IMHO, this band isn't the worst fake in the world. Without the cigars, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell you which one is authentic. Of course any experts are welcome to point out the differences for us. 









Here is our fake ready to be dismantled. The cap and wrapper are ready to peel right off.









Right when the cap comes off, the cigar reveals itself to be only single capped and sloppily put together.









Wrapper and cap are now off, now to pull the binder. The wrapper is heavily veined.









The binder comes off in 3 pieces, each of them a different size and shape. The leaves don't look like they were cut in the same method, each has several holes, and one of the pieces actually has a hefty stem running down it.









Without the binder holding what's left of the cigar together, the thing disintegrates into a mess of short filler. Bits, pieces, shards, you name it, it's in there. Going through the mess, I find more stems attached to some medium filler sized leafs.









The full autopsy below. In the upper left hand, the wrapper and cap. On the far right, the binder that came off in several odd pieces, and in the corner, a mountain of spare parts of tobacco leaf.









Overall, I was half expecting to find grass inside of this thing. I have yet to dissect a premium cigar so I have no other point of reference to compare this to. With that in mind, my findings were that this "CoRo" is a far far cry from anything I'd want to smoke. My understanding is that both the binder and filler in premium cigars is cut uniformly from high quality leaf and rolled together; not folded together like this one. I think the evidence speaks for itself. I hope that this post is in someway informative or helpful to anyone who's wondered or had questions about CC fakes. Hope you enjoyed the show!


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## jhedrick83 (Dec 4, 2012)

Very nice deconstruction. Always looking to learn more.


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## JeepGuy (Dec 7, 2012)

Very informative post! Being a complete noob, i hope if/when i'm presented the opportunity to purchase a cuban, maybe when i'm out of the country i'll be able to use my puff brothers advise and tips as guidance.


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## fuente~fuente (May 11, 2009)

Very interesting thread... Thanks for the pics :nod:


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## Jay_Rich (Feb 26, 2013)

Very Interesting! I have a few fakes here and should do the same, at least your fack's label looks close. Mine isnt even close!

Jay


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## MylesT (Feb 26, 2012)

Well done, mate, and very Interesting! Ring Gauge for you :banana:


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

Again, excellent job in breaking down a fake with top quality photos!


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

Excellent thread, great pictures. The cap is always a dead give away...


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## Reg (Dec 6, 2010)

SilverStreak said:


> I have yet to dissect a premium cigar so I have no other point of reference to compare this to. With that in mind, my findings were that this "CoRo" is a far far cry from anything I'd want to smoke.


Open the authentic one. It's the only way to make any conclusions.


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## nfusion770 (Apr 1, 2011)

Thanks for doing that- very interesting to take a look at what's inside. I can't tell the band apart either, but so far I find the darker wrappers and the caps the biggest give away. The glue mess didn't help either.


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## B-daddy (Oct 29, 2012)

Not just a fake but a very poor quality/poorly made fake. The construction/appearance of most $2 website smokes are much better quality than this cigar. The gluestains and cap are comical. Nice effort on your part. Good thread.


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## SilverStreak (May 7, 2012)

Glad some of you were able to take back something from this thread. It was actually quite fun taking that thing apart. In the near future, I'll take apart a nice NC just to evaluate differences in construction and materials. It'd be enlightening to know how a good cigar is put together aside from just evaluating the outside of it.


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## FireRunner (Jul 19, 2012)

This is one of the best posts I've read on Puff. Nice work. When it comes to quality of a cigar I look at three things:

1. How well the cigar has been wrapped.
2. The cap quality.
3. When you roll it between your fingers is it too loose and/or are there lumps.

Again, excellent post and photos.


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## z0diac (May 18, 2010)

Awesome reverse-engineering! The straight-away giveaway was the colour. That wasy waaaay too dark for a Cohiba Robusto.

All fakeness aside, it could have still tasted great!  One of the best cigars I've ever smoked was a fake Cohiba (large torpedo) on the resort in Varadero, Cuba, that was given to me by a member of the poolside staff.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Thanks Will!


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## procoelho (Mar 5, 2013)

Howw
Thanks for the tips, perfect photos!


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## GottaBeKD (Aug 23, 2012)

A buddy of mine was gifted some esplendios a while ago. When I saw those poor cigars in a ziplock bag in a freezer I immediately asked to take them home and put them in my humidor. Fast forward ahead around 4 months. He came over to my place and we sparked the BBQ to smoke some ribs and I thought I would bring out the said cigars.

It tasted a little funny at first but we smoked away thinking it was just because they were damaged in the freezer. At about the halfway mark I started to feel sick so I clipped the burnt end off and took it apart. It was exactly like this one... nothing but crushed leaves. I even dissected the unburned cigars to find the same thing.

Only get CC from reputable places... and if someone says their uncle works at the factory and can get them cheap... THEY ARE FAKE


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## Mr Puro (Mar 20, 2013)

a lot of fakes along the beach of mexico,


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## capt.morgan (Mar 6, 2013)

Fantastic thread, very informative and great pictures. Thank you!


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## NHDanO (Mar 27, 2013)

I had a coworker that bought a box of "Cohiba's" when he was in the Dominican Republic for me a couple of years ago. I had my initial suspicions as to their authenticity but smoked them anyway. Turns out they were fake but remarkably a fine cigar none the less. Great post.


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## HombreDeBarco (Mar 6, 2013)

Great thread - thanks for the dissection of the fake. Now let's see the real Cohiba dissected for comparison...


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